Always and Forever
by FeralShadowwolf
Summary: When Willow begins to have dreams about Tara, and starts using her dark powers again, she must go to LA to train with a coven to control herself again. Meanwhile, Buffy tags along to see Angel as well. Finally finished! Lots of plot twists it's a little
1. Nightmares

"Why did you leave me? Don't you love me anymore? I'd still be alive if it wasn't for you. Well I hope you're happy with your new whore! YOU BITCH! YOU KILLED ME!"

Willow woke up gasping for air, feeling suffocated, deprived of oxygen, a cold sweat covered her forehead. Her heart was still pumping fiercely. The voice still screamed at her, the picture so clear and so full of hatred. Tears streaked Willow's face, her hands and body shaking.

She felt a warm body beside her. Willow turned around to face her girlfriend, see the loving face of her slayer. Let her touch calm Willow down. The body turned, sat up and faced her. It wasn't the smile or face of her girlfriend, it was the cruel snarl of her last one. The one that died in her arms.

"Tara." Willow whispered.

"YOU BITCH!" Tara screamed and slapped Willow.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

"No!" Willow screamed, feeling her heart being ripped out, feeling her soul die a thousand times over.

"Willow." The voice beside her soothed.

Terrified, Willow screamed and fell out of her bed. "I'm so sorry, Tara, I'm so sorry." Willow cried, crawling like a mouse to the corner. She curled up and buried her face in her knees, letting the pain and the tears flow, hoping that she would eventually dry up and die.

"Willow." That familiar voice repeated. Willow looked up. Kennedy's face welled with concern and love.

"Kennedy?" Willow cried.

"Shhh, I'm here, I'm here." Kennedy caressed her face. Willow jerked back at her touch. "Wow, calm down, I'm here."

"I'm so sorry Kennedy. I just don't know anymore." Willow whispered through her tears. Kennedy held her tenderly in her arms, letting the tears fall from Willow's hot, flustered face.


	2. Kennedy's POV

Kennedy's POV 

This is the third time this week and it's been going on for a month. Willow has woken up in a sweat, confused and crying. She won't tell me why, but I can figure it out. I love her so much and she still dreams about Tara.

She woke up again this morning, crying for Tara and when I tried to calm her, she didn't want to touch me.

How could I ever measure up to Tara? Willow obviously still loves her. Look at what happened when she turned into Warren. By kissing me, she blamed herself for Tara's death. I think she secretly blames me, although she'd never say it.

It kills me that she can look at me with love and touch me with such heated passion, yet her heart is crying out for another woman.

When we saved the world from the First and Sunnydale was destroyed, I thought we'd left the past behind us to have a new start. But now I can see I was sorely mistaken. Tara is still with Willow and I see now that it'll never change. I'll always be second in Willow's heart, but she'll always be first in mine. Always and forever.


	3. Losing

"Willow, I brought you some hot chocolate with the marshmallows, just how you like it." Kennedy smiled.

Willow was still in bed, recovering from this morning. "Thanks baby." She smiled.

Kennedy gave her the mug and then snuggled up beside her. "I was thinking maybe we could go out tonight," Kennedy stroked Willow's arm. "And get some food and then walk under the stars." As tempting as it sounded, Willow felt like she was a puzzle and all the separate bits were all spread out. It would be too confusing to go out tonight with other things on her mind. She needed to sort herself out and, as much as it would hurt both Kennedy and herself, she needed to do it alone.

Setting down her mug on the bedside table, Willow turned to Kennedy with a serious look. "Baby, I need to talk to you about some stuff."

Kennedy caught on. "About Tara, you mean."

Willow's heart lurched. "Partly." Willow swallowed. "This week, this past month, the mornings that I've…" She shuddered.

Kennedy clasped her hand. "It's ok, I understand. Willow, you don't have to hide things from me. I know you still love her."

"No, Kennedy, I… I mean, I do, but I… you, I love…" Willow stuttered, finding it suddenly hard to breath.

"It's ok that you love her." Kennedy said quietly, not looking at her in the eye. "I just hope that you could find a place in your heart for me."

"There already is." Willow smiled reassuringly, putting her hand on top of Kennedy's. "I just need to make sense of some stuff."

"Ok, so, no dinner tonight?" Kennedy lightly joked.

"I don't think so. Kennedy, I have to go away for a little while." Willow held her breath.

"I understand. We'll pack up and –"

"No, not we, just me." Willow said quietly, knowing how Kennedy would react.

"Why?" Kennedy said, sounding hurt at Willow's words. "Don't you want me around? I can help."

"The thing is, I don't think you can. This is my problem. I need to figure it out." Willow argued.

"So how long would you be gone?" Kennedy asked, crossing her arms. It was clear where she stood on this topic.

"I don't know." Willow admitted honestly. "I just know that I need to sort this thing out. It's the only way we can have a future."

"No." Kennedy defied. She stood up and walked away from the bed and Willow.

"What? I can understand why you'd be angry, but –"

"No, I don't think you can. For 3 nights this week _and_ the weeks before that, you've woken up crying out for Tara and now you want to be away from me –"

"I don't _want _to be away from you." Willow said.

"Really? Cos it sounds that way. Do you even love me?" Kennedy shouted in desperation.

"Of course I do, how can you even ask me that?" Willow cried.

"Could you ever only be with me? I know Tara's the love of your life, but could you ever love me as much as her?" Kennedy cried, letting a tear fall from her brown eyes.

"Kennedy, baby, I don't know how to –"

"Then don't. Just leave and go see if you can find Tara. Maybe you could even bring her back." Kennedy shouted.

"Shut up!" Willow stood defensively on the other side of the bed. "How dare you, how _dare _you speak of her that way. I…I…" Willow seethed with anger. She couldn't believe that her girlfriend could be so cruel and evil, knowing about her past. Willow could feel her control slipping away; feel her breath shortening, her heart blackening, along with her hair and eyes.

"Willow! Stop! I'm sorry!" Kennedy shouted, tears falling down her face.

"Sorry? You're sorry?" Willow screamed, feeling the black power surge through her veins once again. "You are nothing!" She blasted a bolt of dark lightning at Kennedy, which knocked her backwards to the floor.

Willow collapsed; her hair returning to her normal red and her eyes letting tears slip from them instead of the black evil color dominating her eyes. "Baby?"

She crawled over to Kennedy, who was waking from her short lack of consciousness.

"Kennedy?" Willow lifted Kennedy's head gently, helping her to sit up.

When Kennedy fully regained her stature, she stood up immediately, looking down at Willow.

"I can't be near you right now." And with that, Kennedy left their New York apartment, leaving Willow with a hollow feeling inside.


	4. Plans

"It's been a week, Buffy, and she hasn't called or anything." Willow cried, letting her friend comfort her. They were at Willow's apartment and Buffy had come as soon as she heard the miserable tone in Willow's voice on the phone.

"Maybe she just needs some time." Buffy said, sitting next to her friend on the floor.

"I don't think she's coming back." Willow said, occasionally wiping her tears with her tissue.

"Why would she leave like this?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know." Willow whispered, lying blindly to her best friend. "We had an argument."

"It must have been one hell of an argument. What was it about?" Buffy asked, supporting her friend.

"Tara." Willow whispered. "We, Kennedy and I, we had an argument. She knew I was having nightmares about Tara, and, and, she…" Willow sniffled, her body shaking again.

Buffy could see her friend was in pain and for once she couldn't kill what was causing it. She put a comforting hand on Willow's shoulder.

"Willow, it's ok." Buffy soothed her.

"Kennedy thinks I'm still in love with Tara." Willow said, feeling the warmth drain out of her.

"Are you?" Buffy winced.

"I thought I let her go. I couldn't hold on forever, as much as I tried. But then Kennedy… I do love her, I know I do. I'm just so confused." Willow buried her face in her hands.

"What were the dreams about?" Buffy asked.

"She, she blames me. For what happened. She hates me." Willow cried, feeling the warm, salty tears streak down her cheeks.

"No she doesn't. Tara loves you and wants you to be happy. Will, you're blaming yourself and your subconscious is projecting that."

"I guess those psyche classes are paying off." Willow smiled through her tears.

"Apparently going back to college agrees with me." Buffy replied, smiling at her friend. It's fair to say that neither of them had a normal childhood, but could they have a normal life now?

"I need to sort this out. I need a coven for support. Magick teaches me how to live, they helped with Tara's death, and maybe they can teach me how to deal with the dreams." Willow huffed.

"Are you going back to England?" Buffy asked.

"I'd love to, except for my slight lack of money." Willow chuckled. "No, there's a coven that I've heard of in L.A. I was thinking I could go there."

"L.A.? As in…" Buffy lead off. The last time she saw Angel was before the battle with the First and she gave him the cookie-analogy, and the little speech about her future guy.

"Yeah. I could stop by if you want me to and say hi." Willow offered.

"No." Buffy replied. "I'm coming too."

"No you're not." Willow said rather darkly.

"What?" Buffy asked, confused by Willow's tone.

"I told Kennedy and I'm telling you, I'm doing this alone. If you want to see Angel, then fine, but you're not tagging along with me." Willow finished, sipping her tea.

"Willow, you really don't have to do this alone. Kennedy doesn't want you to do this alone. Remember when Oz left? That's exactly what you're doing to her." Buffy explained.

"Buffy, don't you think this is killing me? I've got a dead girlfriend hating me and an actual girlfriend doing the same." Willow stood up.

"Kennedy doesn't hate you and neither does Tara." Buffy stood up for a face-to-face.

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do." Buffy argued. A moment of silence and awkwardness passed.

"Buffy, whatever is going on with me, whatever problem I have that might put you guys and Kennedy in danger, I have the responsibility to stop. I won't take the risk of becoming a monster again." Willow said.

"Ok." Buffy said simply.

"Ok?" Willow said squeakily. Usually her friend put up more of a fight. It was in her nature to fight.

"Yes. If this is freaking you out so much as to go solo, I can respect that. But it still doesn't mean I agree." Buffy smiled.

"Thanks. Still want me to say hi to Angel?" Willow asked.

"I don't think that'll be necessary." Buffy answered. _I can say hi to him myself when I get there, _she added silently.


	5. Finding Faith

Kennedy walked around the park for about the hundredth time this week. Ever since she walked out on Willow, she badly needed a distraction and slaying vampires, demons and whatever the hell else thrived in New York at night was a welcome distraction. No one was out except the stars and the half moon that hung from the sky. She had called Buffy over the phone and she had said that Willow was leaving for L.A. in the morning.

Kennedy had decided to get her stuff from their apartment after Willow had left and move it into the motel room she'd been staying in since their little fight.

The day she left Willow, Kennedy knew it wasn't going to be permanent, but she did need some space. A _lot _of space. Kennedy understood Willow's past and had accepted it, not realising at the time that a future with Willow would be hard, as she was unintentionally trapped in her past.

Now that Kennedy knew Willow was going to leave her for L.A., Kennedy's heart and expectations collapsed on themselves. Why Willow was going to L.A., she didn't ask, but Kennedy figured it was something to do with Tara. It always was.

As her new resolution, Kennedy had decided to become upbeat and positive and pretend not to care about Willow, yet totally aware that her plan would utterly fail.

Kennedy liked walking through the park at night. Ever since her transformation from Potential to Slayer, she'd had urges to be out and, although she was afraid to admit it, hunt.

Most people were at home – worrying about their unpaid bills, watching their kids fall asleep or even doing that other thing that Kennedy was too depressed to think about. However, some middle-aged men still scuttled past, carrying their briefcases and wearing worried expressions knowing that their wives would be pissed off because they're late again. Now and again, Kennedy would see the other regular girls, also patrolling, hunting.

Ever since that end of the hellmouth thing, Slayers had been popping up all over the place and it had become common for Slayers to acknowledge other Slayers.

Suddenly, to the left of her, Kennedy heard a scream. Breaking into a run, Kennedy followed the scream to its origin. Shockingly, it came from inside the patch of trees that could loosely be described as a mini forest. Kennedy was secretly happy for the distraction. The screaming slowly stopped, but with her acute slayer speed, it was easy to follow the sound fast enough.

When Kennedy arrived, a short blonde girl huddled behind a tree looking terrified as the rustle in the bushes in front became fiercer.

A vampire flew backwards out of the bushes and fell flat on his back a few feet in front of Kennedy. Getting out her stake, Kennedy readied herself for the thing that threw the vampire, which was still concealing itself in the bushes.

"Show yourself." Kennedy commanded. The bushes rustled some more and Kennedy tightened her grip on her stake.

"Yo, chill. Can't a girl just be slaying a vampire anymore?" A familiar voice said. Coming out of the bushes, Faith stood as confident and witty as ever.

"Faith?" Kennedy said, sounding shocked, but couldn't quite be surprised.

"How's it going Kenn?" Faith smiled. The vampire flipped up, looked at his odds, smiled and attacked Kennedy. Staking him almost effortlessly, he exploded into a pile of dust.

"Oh, you know, same ol', same ol'." Kennedy smiled.

"You bagged my vamp." Faith observed.

"It's a free country." Kennedy answered wittily which made Faith smile. "How about I buy you a drink to make up for it?"

"Sure, I'm up for it." Faith accepted.

"So, how have you been?" Kennedy asked, now walking side by side with Faith towards the closest decent café open this late.

"You know me, five by five. Been doing a little life organisation and I've been doing the Buffy role. Finding all the new Slayers and training them." Faith explained.

"Really? How come?" Kennedy was surprised. She didn't take Faith for the responsible chick.

"Yeah, well. I just don't want any of them to turn out like me. How I used to be." Faith answered. It wasn't often that Faith talked about her past. Kennedy had gotten to know Faith pretty well after the battle with the First and had kept in touch for the first few weeks. However, numbers were lost, priorities shifted.

"So how about you and Willow? Still together?" Faith asked.

"Until about a week ago, yeah." Kennedy answered, feeling all her depression of this last week well up again.

"Oh, I'm sorry, what happened?" Faith asked. "Not that I'm trying to butt in or anything."

"No, it's ok. We just had some differences and we couldn't work them out." Kennedy explained vaguely.

"Well, it's her loss. Any woman would be lucky to get you." Faith smiled flirtatiously. Only recently Faith discovered her lesbian preference and seemed to be adapting extremely well.

"Thanks, but you don't need to say that." Kennedy smiled. The last thing she needed right now was a pep talk from a gorgeous woman toying with her already delicate emotions.

"No, really." Faith said. "If I was Willow, I would have never let a hot chick like you get away."

Kennedy blushed.


	6. Boarding

As Buffy boarded the plane and lugged her carry-on behind her, she searched for her redheaded friend. Willow said she didn't need any help, and to be truthful, she probably didn't, but Buffy was her best friend. Buffy had always been the strong one, the leader, the Slayer. However, Buffy knew without a doubt that if her slayer skills went up against Willow's major mojo, (although she hoped it would never happen again) Buffy would fall flat on her face.

Of course, Buffy also wanted to see Angel really desperately, although she'd never admit it. But Willow was her priority on this trip, not her almost non-existent love life.

Buffy could see the top of Willow redhead a few rows in front and a wide smile formed on her face. She came round the front of Willow and with a big smile said, "Surprise!"

Willow looked up to see her friend. "Hey Buffy."

Buffy was confused at Willow's lack of enthusiasm. "Aren't you surprised to see me?"

"Buffy, remember how I can still hear people's thoughts? Well, I kinda figured it out when you thought 'I can say hi to him when I get there'." Willow explained.

"Right. Forgot to switch off my brain." Buffy said, disappointed that she couldn't surprise her thought-reading friend anymore. Buffy put her carry-on luggage in the compartment above and sat beside Willow. "I though you didn't want me to come." Buffy whispered, not really knowing why she was whispering.

"Your resolved face looks a lot like mine." Willow smiled. "But you're staying with Angel in L.A. I'll contact you if I need you."

"No way. I can't just invite myself over, I'll just stay in the room next to yours in the motel. Anyway, you need my help." Buffy argued.

"We've been through this. You know I can loose you and I will if you follow me." Willow warned.

"Fine." Buffy pouted. _I'll just have to make do with seeing Angel. _

Willow smiled and Buffy blushed.


	7. Arriving

Willow had contacted Angel the day before to give him the heads up that she and Buffy would be stopping by. It was the only thing on his mind for the next 24 hours. Except for the fact that Willow didn't mention the flight time, Angel would have met them at the airport. He couldn't have been more anxious to see Buffy, though, as usual, he kept his cool.

The last time he saw Buffy properly – discounting that time with Spike when she was dancing in that club with a demon – was when they talked about Buffy's future with guys in the form of cookies. It was no secret that Buffy was the only woman her ever loved and there had always been a chemistry between them. The hardest thing he ever had to do was leave Buffy, and now that he had a solution to fix that mistake, would Buffy be with him?

It was almost 9pm, L.A. time, Angel looked around his apartment to make sure everything was just right. The plan was to meet tomorrow morning, but Angel needed something to keep himself busy.

Wesley called earlier just to say hi and updated him on how his progress with Illyria was going. Wesley was attempting to mould Illyria into society and was currently living in England with Wesley. Angel didn't understand Illyria's attraction to Wesley, but he was just happy that she listened to somebody, even if that somebody was the boyfriend of the 'shell' she was living in. Angel sympathised with Wesley. Losing your girlfriend because of some kind of demon wasn't rare in his social circles, but it sure did suck all the same. Wesley seemed to be coping better.

Gunn, on the other hand, had joined the army. After Angel Investigations had broke apart, due to the fact that they weren't really needed anymore, Gunn decided to join the army to fight human scum instead of the supernatural. As the Slayers began to multiply, Angel felt that there were enough demon fighters out there and decided this was his chance to get a life - maybe with Buffy, if she let him.

Just as he let his thoughts wander, there came a knock at the door. Answering it, Buffy stood there looking tired with her luggage on the floor beside her.

"Hi." She said, her smile wavering. Judging by Buffy's appearance, Angel would say that she went to see him first.

"Hi." Angel smiled. To be truthful, he hadn't expected her here at all tonight. "You wanna come in?"

"Yeah, love to." Buffy smiled. Picking up her luggage, she placed it on the floor inside Angel's very well cleaned apartment.

"Do you wanna something to drink or eat?" Angel offered, moving to the kitchen.

"No thanks, I'm good." Buffy answered, still standing by the doorway feeling kind of awkward.

"Is Willow…?" Angel asked, half knowing the answer.

"No, she went straight to the motel. I just wanted to see you first." Buffy said, suddenly feeling really stupid she said that. Angel came over and took her hand, leading her to the sofa. She sat on the longer red sofa while Angel took the armchair.

"So, how've you been?" Angel asked.

"Pretty good. I went around Europe for a while and now I'm back in college in California and everything's…good." Buffy replied. The last thing she wanted right now was the formal chat, but she couldn't exactly pull him on the sofa and touch him, the way she always wanted to when she saw him.

"And Dawn?" Angel enquired.

"She's also at college and peeved off at having her sister there. She actually moved in with her boyfriend, but it's only about a block away from where I live." Buffy explained. "What about you?"

"Well, I shut down Angel Investigations because it seemed to me that with all those Slayers out there, we weren't really needed anymore. Since then I've been working on a new project." Angel said. His voice was always in a hushed, comforting tone.

"Which is?" Buffy pried.

"I'm not ready to tell you that yet." Angel smiled.

"Ok." Buffy said, not quite understanding why Angel would be secretive from her. Changing the subject, Buffy said, "Do you wanna have dinner or something tomorrow?"

"Sure. Are you staying with Willow?" Angel asked.

"Yep. One flee-bag motel with all the vermin trimmings." Buffy smiled.

Almost without thinking, Angel said, "You could stay here."

"Huh?" Buffy asked, feeling the blood rush to her face.

"There's a room in the back. No vermin and everything." Angel smiled. Buffy breathed out a sigh of relief; she thought he meant the other thing.

"Well, um," Buffy needed a moment to think. "Sure. Why not. Willow's pretty much doing her thing solo, I'm really just here for moral support."

"Ok, great. Do you want to call Willow to let her know where you'll be?" Angel offered.

"I am." Buffy smiled. _Willow!_

_Yeah, _came the reply.

_I'm staying with Angel._

_You go girl! _Willow laughed.

_Not like that! Just call me if you need me._

_Sure thing, bye! _Willow finished in a high tone, as if she was suggesting something.

Angel looked slightly puzzled when she opened her eyes. "Willow's power has been getting stronger and the range for her telepathy has grown. I can talk to her anywhere within a 20 mile radius." Buffy explained.

"That must be a headache. I remember when you were telepathic – isn't she worried about the over exhaustion?" Angel replied.

"She can block most of the junk and since they are her powers not some demon extraction, she can control it." Buffy explained.

"Cool." Angel smiled.

"Yeah." Buffy smiled. Letting a few silent, awkward seconds pass, Angel said. "Shall I show you to your room?"

"That'd be great." Buffy smiled appreciatively. Angel got Buffy's luggage and went to the room directly opposite Angel's. The room was just as she expected it to be. The bed had a deep, dark wooden frame and it was all decorated beautifully in a sort of classic way.

"The bathroom is just down the hall to your left." Angel said. "I hope it's ok for you."

"It's fantastic, thanks." Buffy beamed. She looked down at her clothes, all rumpled and worn. "I think I'll shower."

"Ok, well, if you want anything, my room's just opposite." Angel said, still holding the doorknob.

"Thanks Angel." Buffy said and kissed him on the cheek longingly, before slowly moving away. Angel, feeling her longing and matching it with his own, kissed her. First softly, then passionately and then fiercely. It had been so long and they both needed to be close so much.

Slowing their kisses, Buffy came up for air, but stayed close. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too." Angel whispered, holding her close.


	8. Waking

Nothing happened last night. Buffy had had her shower and gone to bed alone. She knew that as much as they both wanted to, no matter how much they would always love each other, they never could. Angel couldn't as he would become Angelus again and he still left her because he believed there was no future with him. That last part was utter crap to Buffy, but the first part was her ultimate nightmare. To love someone so much see turn into an evil monster and then have to kill it was not something Buffy wanted to do again.

The one thing Buffy didn't understand was that when Angel left her room, he said, "I promise you, things will change." Those words kept playing over and over in her head. What things? Change how? It's possible to say that Angel was the most vague and cryptic guy she'd ever met. Change would be nice, but it was hard to pull off.

Waking up, Buffy clung to her delightfully warm, soft duvet covers, promising herself she wouldn't get up for another 10 minutes. Opening her eyes, her room was a light glow coming from the sunshine trying to get through the curtains. She looked at the clock and it read 11:09am. It was great to wake up with no responsibilities for once. After quickly getting dressed and brushing her hair, Buffy made her way out of her room, ready to confront Angel.

The apartment was quiet and still and for a moment, she thought maybe Angel was still asleep. However, on the coffee table she saw a note with her name on it. It read:

Buffy –

I didn't want to wake you. I went

to town to get some food for you.

I hope you still like oreos. Help

yourself to whatever is in the

cupboard – the fridge won't be

of much use.

Angel

Not 'love Angel' or 'Be back soon', just 'Angel'. It wasn't that Buffy needed confirmation of Angel's love, and it wasn't that she wanted him totally and utterly confess his undying – literally – love, but a girl likes to be wanted.

Buffy put his letter aside and rummaged around Angel's cabernets until she found some cookies; always a good start to the day. Shockingly, there wasn't a television, so Buffy picked up the phone and dialled.

"Hey Dawn."


	9. Meeting

Willow woke up to an instantly warm day after getting to her hotel last night and totally collapsing in her bed. Aside from the fact that she was tired, Willow was completely petrified by how to go about the coven. First of all, she wasn't even sure where they were and second, she was slightly intimidated.

She got dressed and unpacked her stuff. She wasn't sure how long she would be staying, but it probably wasn't a one-day job. Just as she was about to leave, Willow heard a knock from the door.

Answering the door, a tall brunette middle-aged woman wearing a plain pink dress stood on the cheesy 'welcome' mat that came with the room. "Can I help you?"

"Actually, I think we can help you." The woman answered. Willow drew a blank. "I'm sorry, I forgot my manners. I'm Lizzie Brooks from Shirigha."

Willow stood there open-mouthed. "Ur, right. Please come in."

The coven Willow was going to was called Shirigha, it was unbelievable that they had known she was coming so fast. Willow thought that it took a week at the earliest to foresee visitors. Willow had only decided to come 2 days ago.

"I can see you're a little shocked, dear." Lizzie smiled.

"I'm just a little surprised to see you so soon." Willow answered, recovering from her short lack of words.

"Yes, well. I assume you know why I'm here." Lizzie said.

"For me?" Willow asked. _Why else would she be here?_

"Yes. You seek our guidance, do you not?" Lizzie asked.

"I do. Can you help me?" Willow asked.

"I believe we can." Lizzie replied. "Come, you must meet the others."

With that, Willow grabbed her coat and left with Lizzie Brooks to meet the coven.


	10. Oreo's

After Buffy had spoken to Dawn and told her the number for Angel's if she needed it, Buffy had gone back to her room to straighten her bed out. If it weren't for Angel getting home just that second, she would have crawled back into bed.

"Buffy?" He called out.

"In here. Be right there." Buffy replied. She came out of her room to see Angel holding two 'Publix' supermarket bags and 3 books. "Want some help?"

"Yeah, that'd be swell." Angel deliberately handed her the plastic bags in hopes to divert her attention from the books.

"What are the books for?" Buffy asked eyeing them.

"Reading." Angel smiled and Buffy rolled her eyes.

"No really, what are they?" Buffy asked again.

"Just some light reading. Sorry I was gone so long, I hit the store earlier, but then I lost track of time in the library." Angel explained, placing the books on the coffee table.

"We need to get you a life. You've turned into a book nerd." She smiled, putting the food away in the cupboards. "What time did you leave?"

"Around 8am." Angel replied, happy to see they were off the book topic.

"Are you still a day-sleeper or a night-sleeper?" Buffy asked. She'd lost track since he'd left Sunnydale.

"Night. I just wake up early is all." Angel answered.

"Ooo! Oreo's! Thanks!" Buffy smiled like a little girl who had discovered the hidden chocolate.

"Still your favourite then?" Angel laughed.

"Always and forever." Buffy replied taking a bite of one. This was nice. This friendly banter with no demons or vampires being mentioned. Almost like normal.

"I didn't know how long you're staying, but I can always go back to the store." Angel said.

"Nah, it's cool. I can go and get it and as for how long I'm staying, that's up to you." Buffy said.

"I don't mind how long to stay." Angel said, sitting on the sofa. "For as long as you like."

Buffy came over and sat beside him after giving him a quick kiss. "How about forever?"

Angel smiled. "It's alright by me."

Buffy snuggled closer to him and they just held each other until Buffy feel asleep again and Angel rested his head on hers.


	11. An Evil Ploy

The building itself was old, and for some reason, misty. A large fog seemed to surround the building.

"What's with the fog, Lizzie?" Willow asked.

"It's a spell. To those who aren't looking for the building can't see it. The fog is a representative for witches to see." Lizzie explained.

"Cool." Willow smiled. Finally, witches to match her potential. "Temporary or permanent?"

"There's no such spell for a permanent one yet, we have to recharge the spell every 48 hours." Lizzie explained.

"I think I could do it." Willow volunteered.

"It takes at least 2 witches to recharge the force-field." Lizzie said, sounding slightly judgemental.

"No, I mean I could give the permanent force-field a try." Willow offered.

"Oh, I didn't know you were that powerful." Lizzie confessed, sounding rather stunned.

"I can give it a try." Willow repeated. She didn't like to brag about her powers and wasn't even sure herself what her limits were.

Inside the building, it was naturally dark as there was no electricity; it was just dimly lit by candles. Lizzie lead Willow though a long hall until they reached the end room.

"The others are in here." Lizzie said, opening the door. At first Willow couldn't see anything as this room was darker than the hall, but her eyes adjusted to see 12 more women in the room in a circle around 1 tall plat-formed candle.  
Lizzie took her place in the circle. "I found her."

"Hi." Willow nervously waved. The others glanced at her, but never quite said anything or made her feel welcome.

To be frank, this didn't feel right to Willow. Everything seemed to be giving her the creeps and her instincts were telling her to run. "Is this the right place?"

"Everything is how it should be." One woman answered, not lifting her head to answer. Willow, still not trusting this coven, focused intensely on their thoughts. Silence.

"Oh my god, what are you?" Willow whispered, terrified to her core. The women now looked at each other, slightly panicked.

"We have been found out. Bind her!" The eldest woman said. Twelve women, including Lizzie, instantly looked at her and moved closer to Willow.

"Protect!" Willow shouted, her hand flying out to create a mini force-field from them. The women just walked straight into it, bouncing on and off as if they didn't control their actions. Almost as if they were…

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me." Willow muttered something else and she vanished from the fake coven's sight.


	12. Research Mode

A knocking came from Angel's apartment door and Buffy was surprised to see Willow standing by the door, looking a little rough.

"Will? What's –"

"Major mojo… little freaked out… Mundo evil… a slayer's job." Willow stuttered, rushing herself through the door. Feeling a little light-headed, Willow felt her legs give way beneath her.

"Will!" Buffy yelled and caught her friend before she hit the floor. Helping her onto the sofa, Angel came in.

"Sorry, I teleported." Willow snuffled.

"You can teleport now?" Angel asked, feeling suddenly useless. "That's cool."

Buffy smiled. "It seems Angel's been watching one too many movies recently." Switching her attention back to the collapsing witch, Buffy said, "So, what's going on?"

Willow told Buffy and Angel the whole deal, what with Lizzie picking her up and finding the haunted mansion up on foggy hill. "But when I tried to look into their minds, there was nothing Buffy." Willow sounded really freaked out.

"Maybe they were vamps. It fits their bio – in the dark, and I couldn't read Angel's mind when I went all demony." Buffy suggested.

"No, Lizzie was out in the sunlight and besides I know it wasn't vampires." Willow said, but Buffy and Angel still looked confused. "When I look into somebody's mind and try to read their thoughts, I get a feel for their person, their aura. Even with the words being not received with vampires, I can still feel their… inside, if you like." Willow explained. "But when I looked into these things, there was nothing. They were hollow, a space of air."

"Robots?" Buffy guessed.

"I thought that too, but robots can't wield magick." Willow said.

Angel sighed. "And I thought my un-life was beginning to get boring."

"Way too much TV." Buffy rolled her eyes. Willow smiled; she didn't need to be a mind reader to know what was going on there. "Seems like we need to do a research thing." Buffy sighed. _I hate that part!_

"You never _did _that part!" Willow smiled and Buffy shoved her annoyingly.

"Stay out of my head!" Buffy laughed.

"I'm not gonna ask, but I know where we can go look for this stuff." Angel offered.

"Ahh, the mysterious library." Buffy teased.

"What mysterious library? You have a mysterious library?" Willow moaned jealously.

"No I don't and it's not mysterious." Angel said and shot Buffy a warning look.

"Whatever. Come on, you're driving." She told Angel.

"Small problem." Angel said.

"The sun." Willow sighed. "Wait a minute, I've been working on a spell that will temporarily cover the sun for a few minutes – long enough for us to get to the car."

"Is that a good idea? The weird dudes might be able to track you through your use of magick." Buffy said. Willow had a thoughtful look on her face.

"Crap, that's how they did it before. I used magick to close the curtains last night – I knew they couldn't have predicted me so fast!"

"Plan B anyone?" Buffy looked hopeful.

"How about we use the internet until later and we'll hit the library come sunset." Angel suggested.

"Works for me." Buffy agreed and Willow nodded, setting off for Angel's computer.


	13. Uncovered

"I think I might have found something." Buffy reported. After turning up hardly anything on Angel's computer, they left for the library come sunset. What Angel neglected to tell her was that the library was underground and run by vampires. Thankfully, the sudden increase of Slayers made them nervous, so they pretty much left without a fight.

"Share." Willow said, looking up from her own book. They'd each chosen books to look through individually and based their search on Willow's description.

"Oh," Buffy looked up. "I don't think it's them."

"Why not?" Angel asked.

"Because I'm looking at the wrong book. This is a children's fiction book." Buffy smiled at her own daftness and Willow stifled a laugh.

"Did they have scales?" Angel asked.

"Lizzie didn't unless she had really good make up on, but the others were wearing robes head to toe, I don't know." Willow answered.

"It's really weird that you didn't pick up that Lizzie was evil. Most people we run into are." Buffy shrugged. A cruel and unfair truth.

"I was kinda nervous this morning and so when she showed up I was just in awe that the coven could see me coming so fast." Willow replied, feeling resentful at the stupid fake coven.

"There's a point. Does the real Shirigha exist? Or is it actually a bunch of fake robots – are we going with robots?" Angel asked. All the types of demon out there, who could keep up?

"Why not? It's the best we've come up with so far." Buffy sighed, putting her useless book on the table.

"I heard about Shirigha from Tara." Willow whispered. Buffy looked at Angel, she'd filled him in about Willow's reason for being in L.A.

"When she was alive?"

"No, in my dream. Are you convinced she wants to kill me now?" Willow asked defensively, her arms crossed.

"Willow, your dreams aren't Tara." Buffy said. "Tara's dead, she's not talking to you." It's time Willow accepted this. "After all we've been through since she died, you never really have a chance to grieve so your subconscious is finding a way to process –"

"Buffy, stop psycho-analysing me! This _is _Tara. I can feel her –"

"No, what you feel is your grief tricking your memory of her." Buffy argued, her voice slightly rose in volume.

"It's Tara… It's… I know…" Willow's breathing was becoming shorter, harder to inhale. Her hair, darkening from the roots; her eyes, turning to black.

Willow screamed and shot a bolt of dark thunder at Buffy. Angel jumped at Buffy, knocking them out of the way and to the floor.

Looking up at Willow, she was changing again. Soon the red returned to her hair and her legs gave way with Buffy and Angel watching in awe as her transformation completed.

"I'm sorry guys." Willow whispered. "I'll go." Willow stood up, not daring to look at them out of shame.

"Willow, is that why Kennedy left?" Buffy asked, both her and Angel standing up. "You came here to get help didn't you? You didn't just come here to deal with your dreams of Tara." Buffy said, piecing it altogether.

"Yes." Willow admitted, her back still turned to them before she walked out on them, leaving both Buffy and Angel feeling a little more than confused.


	14. Vacations

"How about Hawaii? I always wanted to go there." Kennedy smiled. Faith and Kennedy were next to each other on the floor looking at travel brochures and playing footsie.

"With the white sandy beaches and the girls in grass skirts? But whatever shall we do there?" Faith teased. It had been a couple of weeks since Kennedy and Faith had starting seeing each other, and since it had been going so well, they decided to take their first vacation as a couple.

"How about Florida?" Faith suggested.

"Isn't that the state of annoying tourists and old people?" Kennedy asked sceptically.

"Yeah, but also the state where Disneyland means everything! I've always wanted to go there." Faith said and put on her pouty face. Kennedy smiled and kissed her.

"Maybe next time. Can't we go somewhere quiet and do some shopping and be all alone?" Kennedy smiled seductively.

"That sounds nice." Faith kissed her again. "There's great shopping in L.A." Kennedy's smile faded and she sat up. "Oh god, I'm sorry, I forgot." Faith said, sitting up beside her.

"It's no big, we can go there if you want." Kennedy said.

"No. Hawaii's sounding really good right about now." Faith smiled. Kennedy appreciated it, but the truth was she did want to go to L.A. and see Willow. She needed closure and she needed to tell Willow they couldn't be together because of Faith, even if Willow left so that she could rid herself of evil so they could be together without Tara.

"Hello? You in there?" Faith smiled.

"Sorry. I wanna go to L.A." Kennedy said.

"To see Willow." Faith concluded.

"It's not what you think." Kennedy said, understanding why Faith would get the wrong idea.

Faith stood up. "Kenn, you wanna go and see your ex, seems pretty clear to me."

"I need to tell her that I'm with you. Closure is the only way we can have a future." Kennedy said, taking Faith hand.

"A future involving Disneyland?" Faith smiled.

"Absolutely. How about we take that vacation after this is all over?" Kennedy suggested, twirling Faith's hair.

"We better." Faith answered. "I'll come with you to L.A."

"I'd like that." Kennedy answered, half-truthfully. "We'll leave late tomorrow."

"Early to bed then?" Faith flirted.

Kennedy kissed her. "Anything you want. I'm so lucky having a girlfriend so understanding."

"And hot, don't forget hot!" Faith joked.

"Kennedy laughed. "And hot. I love you."

"I love you too, Kenn." Faith smiled and they kissed passionately.


	15. Airport

Kennedy and Faith were at New York City airport, anxiously awaiting their plane. On one hand, Kennedy was relieved that Faith was coming to support her – dealing with this on her own would've been tough. On the other hand, when she walked out on Willow, sure, she was freaked out, but she never stopped loving her. But then Faith came along and Willow was forgotten. Faith was fresh and fun to be with, besides the fact that she was totally hot, and Kennedy had honestly grown to really love her. It was just this tiny tingling feeling in the pit of her stomach and the little almost non-existant voice in the back of her head that said, "but you _are_ still in love with Willow."

Faith had gotten a call on her cell and was taking it in a quiet corner while Kennedy looked for their flight times. Their flight left at 7:30pm. Faith came over with a troubled look on her face and Kennedy could tell whatever Faith was thinking wasn't good.

"What's up?" Kennedy asked.

"I just got a call from one of the slayers I've been helping and it sounds like she needs some major help." Faith replied. Kennedy's face fell, but she understood how important this whole training thing was to Faith.  
"Ok, well how long will you be gone?" She asked.

"I won't." Faith smiled.

"Huh?" Kennedy was confused.

"Luckily, she's in LA. Now, I know I won't be there for you as much as I wanted to be, but I'll be in the same city and I can still snuggle up with you in a hotel every night." Faith smiled.

"That would be fantastic!" Kennedy beamed, throwing her arms around Faith. "Ok, let's get some gummy sweets for the plane. Our boarding starts in 15 minutes."

"I'm with you." Faith smiled.

"You better be." Kennedy replied. Holding hands, they began their journey to Los Angeles.


	16. Alleys

"Angel, we have two priorities. One – find evil weird roboty things and destroy and two – stop Willow from destroying herself." Buffy said. After the scene at the library and Willow's confession of her true intentions for being in LA, she had disappeared for 3 days. Buffy couldn't find her and Angel couldn't track her.

"How would Willow destroy herself by stripping her powers? I mean, I know I haven't always understood what exactly happened, but after her little power display, maybe getting rid of the magicks wouldn't be so – "

"Bad?" Buffy finished for him. "Giles once said to her that by stopping using the magicks would be as dangerous as overusing them like she did once." Buffy explained. "She's been caused a lot of grief because of them. Tara left her because of the magicks and so did Kennedy."

They'd been walking along the street for a few hours now, thinking about where Willow could have possibly gone.

"We should have asked Willow where exactly the foggy witchy hill place was." Angel grumbled.

"Yeah." Buffy smiled. They had always had a rocky relationship, but there was a time when they _were_ perfect together. The happiest Buffy had ever felt.

"Wait," Angel stopped suddenly.

"What?" Buffy asked. "Is it Willow?"

"No, but maybe someone who can help us out." Angel replied. "You know how vampires can sense when a slayer's near?"

"Not the greatest of turn-on's, but sure." Buffy replied dryly.

"Well maybe a slayer from the area can give us a hand." Angel suggested.

"There's a slayer around here?" Buffy asked, impressed by Angel's tracking capability.

"About 20 metres that way." Angel pointed down an alley.

"Ok, sure, let's go for it." Buffy replied. Walking towards the alley, Buffy could hear a lot of crashes and grunts. To a normal girl, she would guess some people needed to get a room; to Buffy the vampire slayer, she'd guess someone needed help slaying a demon.

Turning the alley corner, she saw a young slayer kicking the crap out of a vampire. Back flips, sidekicks, left block and punch – this sequence of moves seemed familiar. Buffy or Angel didn't interfere, as it seemed the girl had it under control. Then the final few blows: jumping kick, right punch, stake to the heart, dust.

Gasping for breath, the slayer kept her steak raised and turned instinctively to face Buffy and Angel.

"It's ok. I'm Buffy, this is Angel." Buffy explained. Most slayers knew who Buffy was as she did kinder bring about they're slayerness.

"What's a vampire slayer doing with a vampire?" She said accusingly, her stake still raised suspiciously.

"Oh, Angel? He's got a soul." Buffy explained.

"I thought the vampire with a soul died during the battle with the First." She said.

"What? Spike is now known as the vampire with the soul!" Angel said, totally annoyed at his old, really dead, rival.

Buffy looked at him as if to say 'Now's not the time' and 'Get over it' rolled into one. "Look, if you know who I am, you know you can trust me."

"True." She said, slowly putting her stake away. "I'm Appel."

"Hi. Impressive moves, but they seem familiar." Buffy squinted.

"Well I've had training." Appel replied, walking past them.

"Who from?" Buffy enquired, as Angel and herself followed the new slayer.

"Your pal Faith." Appel answered.

"Faith? Faith trains slayers? Seriously?" Buffy said. "Killed anyone lately?" She murmured, Angel giving her a warning look. Nothing can get past that pesky vampire hearing.

"Back on topic." Angel reminded her. "Appel, we need your help."

"With what?" Appel paused and faced them again, obviously intrigued into why a vampire AND a vampire slayer would need help.

"My friend's gone missing and we need someone who knows the area to help us out." Buffy explained. Although Angel had lived in LA for many years now, the only places he knew of were demon hangouts – Angel wasn't a social creature.

"Look, I've got my own stuff to deal with, I don't have time to be someone's tour guide." Appel replied snappily.

"You owe her. She made you what you are. Maybe Faith mentioned her – Willow Rosenburg?" Buffy hoped it would ring a bell, and could see from Appel's face that she knew who Willow was.

"Fine." She replied.

"Good. After this, we'll help you with anything you need." Buffy offered.

"Thanks, but I've already got help flying in." Appel replied. "I'm going after some creepy magick invoked demons called Indones."

Buffy and Angel glanced at each other. "Do they live on a foggy hill?"

"Don't know. No one's ever been able to find their place." Appel answered.

"I think we can help." Angel replied.


	17. Vacancy

"Is this room ok?" The landlady asked. Faith and Kennedy grimaced. Tacky peeling wallpaper, an odd grey-ish never-been-washed floor and there was a floral print bed cover. _Yep, a palace, _Faith thought.

"Uh-huh, thanks." Kennedy smiled reassuringly to the landlady until she left and had closed the door behind her. Faith looked at Kennedy, clearly disgusted,

"Don't look at me like that, you knew this was the cheapest place." Kennedy smiled.

"Fine, but if the bed breaks, I'm not sleeping on this floor." Faith joked. Carrying their luggage into the corner of the room, Faith's phone went off.

"Hello? Oh hi. Really? Ok, sure, the more the merrier. Are you sure? I'll meet you there in 20 mins." Faith hung up, and faced Kennedy with a troubling expression.

"What? What is it?" Kennedy asked, looking worried.

"There's good news and there's bad news. Good news is that we found Buffy and she's helping Appel. Bad news – Red's gone AWOL." Faith informed her.

"Since when?" Kennedy asked.

"Three days sounds like." Faith replied.

"I have to find her." Kennedy said determined.

"Appel said B and Angel tried, but she's put up some kind of blocking spell." Faith said "Don't worry, hun, we'll find her."

"I'll – " _Knock, knock, knock. _

"Come in." Faith and Kennedy said in unison.

The landlady popped her head through the door. "I have a note for you."

"For us? From who?" Kennedy asked. They'd only just arrived.

"Well it says that if her friends came here, she's gone somewhere where _you'll _be safe." The landlady read, sounding a bit confused.

"I think you've got the wrong people, lady." Faith chuckled.

"Who is it from?" Kennedy asked more seriously.

"I'm not sure of her name, but she came in looking very upset. A redhead?" The landlady hoped it would ring a bell. "I must admit, she didn't say you'd be _staying_ here."

Kennedy grabbed the note, read it, and looked at Faith. "This must have been for Buffy and Angel." Turning back to the landlady, "Wait, was she staying here?"

"Well, yes. Up 'til about three days ago." The landlady replied, puzzled.

"Can we see her room?" Kennedy asked.

"She took all her things, but the maid doesn't come 'til Tuesday." The lady replied. "So I suppose you can."

The landlady headed out of the room with an eager Kennedy and Faith following straight behind her. They stopped a few doors down at 1B, with the 'B' sloping sideways. Jingling the keys out of her pocket, the landlady opened the door.

At first glance, the room was empty. Faith and Kennedy stepped inside, giving the landlady a thankful nod. Faith checked the bathroom while Kennedy checked the bedroom.

"Nothing in there." Faith reported.

"No, me neith– " Kennedy stopped abruptly. "Wait a minute." Kennedy bent down beside the bed and picked up a crumpled brochure.

Kennedy read it carefully. "I know where she is."


	18. Reunions

"They should have been here ½ hour ago." Appel said, pacing and glancing at her watch frequently.

Buffy smiled. "Faith's timing was never brilliant."

"You know, she's changed a lot since you last saw her." Appel defended Faith.

"I know she's capable of change, we've both seen that." Buffy looked at Angel, thinking back to the time when she went from good to evil and back again. "But people don't change bad habits."

Appel smiled. Obviously they hadn't heard about Faith's change of heart, so to speak, and she wasn't about to ruin it.

"Talking about me, B?" Faith smiled at Buffy, appearing from out of the shadows. They had agreed to meet in the cemetery at 8pm and it was now 8:37pm, according to Appel's watch.

"Hello Faith." Buffy coldly greeted. It was a fact that the slayers never saw eye-to-eye.

"B." Faith nodded in acknowledgement. "And Angel, how've you been?"

"Pretty good. Yourself?" Angel asked.

"Five by five." Faith smiled. "You ok, Appel?"

"Oh, I'm swell. Where you been?" Appel asked quite aggressively.

"Actually, " Faith turned back to Buffy. "I lost Kennedy when she went to find Red. Tried to call, but the receptions crap around here."

"Wait, what?" Buffy looked confused. "You were with Kennedy? What's she doing here? She knows where Will is?" Buffy asked, all these questions flying out of her mouth before her brain had time to process them.

"Chill, B. I don't know where Kenn went, hence the 'losing-her' thing, she's in LA to do the closure thing and that's when we found out she's missing – when Appel phoned me." Faith explained.

"Why does she need closure? I thought when she walked out on Willow, it was temporary." Buffy said, feeling like a headache was about to befall her. Angel and Appel perched on a gravestone in the background.

"It's not anymore." Faith answered.

"She must still love Willow, she's just hurting." Buffy concluded.

"No, she's not." Faith defied. "B, I've been through a few changes…"

"Can we deal with your issues later please? We're a bit busy." Buffy snapped. _Faith doesn't know what she's talking about, she's never been in love like Kennedy and Willow have._

"Hey! Hear her out." Appel shouted.

"Appel, I got it. B, the point is, Kennedy and I are kinda… seeing each other." Faith said, looking to see how Buffy would take it. Angel seemed unaffected, there really wasn't any reason for him to be affected, but she'd at least thought he'd be surprised.

"Oh," Was all Buffy could say. "Well I _definitely_ didn't see that coming. I mean after…" Looking at Angel and then thinking about Riley. "When did you find out?"

"After Robin and I broke up, something happened at this bar…" She trailed off suggestively.

"Well, that's too much information for me in one night." Buffy said, taking a breath. _How nice, she screwed both my boyfriends and now, she's changed her mind. Well, not really Angel, but that's not the point…_

"Good thing you don't have to care then." Faith said, moving past her to Appel and Angel. "Appel, I'm sorry, but the Indones are going to have to wait. Kenn and Red first." Faith instructed. Appel said nothing, but accepted it.

"I tried tracking her, but Willow's done a spell." Angel told Faith, walking over beside Buffy.

"That's ok, Kenn and I found a brochure at Red's apartment – you didn't think to look there? – I'm not sure what it means, but I only saw the title 'Ted's Shack' on it before she ran off."

Buffy replied sharply. "We didn't know where she was staying."

Before there was a chance to reply, Appel interjected, "I've never heard of Ted's Shack before. It sounds like a low-budget KFC or something."

"Faith, was there a logo on it? A blue square with red circles in the corners on it, perhaps?" Angel asked.

"Er, yeah, I think so." Faith answered. "Why? Does it mean something to you?"

"Ted's Shack is a cover. In reality, it's like a club for demons. It's run by…" A look of panic spread across his face. "Oh god. We've gotta get there now."

"Why? Who runs it Angel?" Buffy asked with urgency in her voice.

"A demon named Laxe – he's the most powerful demon I know of. He can weave in and our of parallel universes and realities."

"He can't be worse than the First." Buffy replied objectively.

"No, but he is the First's first hand demon. Imagine that guy, Caleb – the preacher you found so hard to kill. Imagine a demon a hundred times stronger and faster and you've got Laxe. He's trouble Buffy. He provides the demons, which inhabit vampire's bodies. He helped create the Hellmouths. And on top of all that, he strips witches magick at the expense of their souls."

Buffy looked at him wide-eyed. "Willow wouldn't… couldn't be stupid enough to…"

"She'd be desperate enough." Angel warned.

"Let's move." Buffy commanded. "We need weapons. Lots and lots of weapons."


	19. Ted's Shack

"Willow?" Kennedy shouted. Ted's Shack, which was once the most happening and busiest demon club worldwide, had now been reduced to rubble, dust and a faulty electrical system.

"Willow?" She called again, coughing at the dust, which seemed to fill her lungs. Kennedy looked around the place; it wasn't very big, or attractive, but it sure attracted a lot of different kinds of people here.

When Willow and Kennedy had first come to here, it was to find a demon who knew a demon, who knew a very powerful warlock.

Shortly after Spike sacrificed himself for the world, Buffy had asked Willow to look into it a bit, but not to put herself in danger. Of course, Willow, so sure of her own powers, thought she could go as far as to bring Spike back, as she had Buffy. It was true that Buffy and Spike's relationship had been somewhat rocky and confusing, but at the end, Willow truly believed that her friend really did love the vampire, even if she wouldn't admit it herself.

Kennedy knew better. First of all, Kennedy knew Willow shouldn't be messing with her magick for dark purposes no matter how sure she was of her powers. Secondly, bring Spike back never seemed like such a good thing for anyone, least of all Buffy. She needed to start seeing new people, preferably the living, and living her human life.

Willow wouldn't listen. Having to go with her all the way to LA to Ted's Shack to meet this demon, Kennedy felt uneasiness all the time she spent there. The demons could sense she was a slayer just as she could demons, but instead of killing their evil souls, she pulled up a stall at the bar for a drink with Willow.

Not getting the information or help they needed, Kennedy finally convinced Willow to let it go. However, before they left, the demon Willow had been talking to tugged at her arm and talked to her secretly. A few whispers and nods were exchanged and then Willow rejoined Kennedy.

Refusing to tell Kennedy what the demon had said, Kennedy let it go only to do some independent research on the bar's history when she got home and when Willow wasn't around.

Kennedy found out that Willow hadn't told her the truth. She wasn't looking for a warlock; she was looking for a powerful demon named Laxe – the owner of the club. Kennedy also connected the dots when she found out that he could strip a witch's or warlock's powers. Kennedy never understood why Willow would want to strip her powers, but what really hurt Kennedy was that she didn't tell her the truth.

Instead of confronting Willow about it, Kennedy kept it to herself, hoping that this would all blow over and be forgotten. As she stood in the same place a year later, Kennedy realised how mistaken she really was.

"Willow!" Kennedy shouted louder, thinking she was probably in the back room. Suddenly, a demon vaulted across the room to attack her, only getting as fair as a failed attempt at a chokehold. Grabbing her hidden weapon, Kennedy held a sharp blade to the demon's throat. "Where is she?"

"Who?" The demon choked.

Kennedy's grip tightened. "The witch."

"I don't know what –" Tighter. "In the back."

"Thanks." Twisting her neck around, she heard a short click, which signified death. Looking at the door, Kennedy walked towards it carrying grief and anger for the girl she thought she knew who stood behind that door in the demon bar.


	20. I Always Am

"How far are we?" Buffy asked impatiently, striding beside Angel with Faith and Appel behind them.

"Not far." Angel replied. "10 minutes if we walk. Five if we run."

"Maybe we should run. Who knows how far into this thing Willow really is. She could be dealing with him right now." Buffy said urgently.

"B," Faith sighed, taking her arm and pulling her to stop. "I think you sould take a minute. Willow's pretty far gone and hell, for all we know, she may have already done it."

Buffy looked at her defiantly. "Faith, I can't think like that right now. I know how to fix things, that's what I do. I _have_ to fix this. If you wanna back out now that's fine, but I'm going."

"No, it's cool, I'll go, I just think you should be prepared for the worst."

"I always am." Buffy replied. Looking to Angel and then back to Faith, she said, "You guys don't have to come."

"I'm with you." Angel smiled reassuringly. _I always am,_ he added silently. She received a short nod from Faith.

"As long as you guys help out with the Indones, I'm in." Appel stated. Angel's head suddenly perked up, like a dog who had just heard someone coming.

"What is it, Angel?" Buffy asked.

"A scream." He replied. "A female scream."

"Maybe we _should_ run." Faith suggested.


	21. Explanations

"The scream originated here." Angel said, pointing to the small neon sign 'Ted's Shack'.

"Of course it did." Appel muttered.

"Willow." Buffy whispered. Kicking down the door in a hurried rage, they ran into the dark, dusty club.

"Buffy," Angel whispered. "That wasn't Willow's scream, it was Kennedy's."

"What?" Faith asked. "She's here? Kennedy!"

Ignoring Faith's screams, Buffy said, "Something's not right here."

"What do you mean?" Appel asked.

"Where are Laxe's minions? Protection? And where's Kennedy?" Buffy looked around, confused.

"There's a back door." Faith announced, running toward it. Grabbing for the handle, faith was flung backwards in the air moments after opening the door.

"Faith!" Appel exclaimed, running over to Faith and kneeling beside her. Checking her pulse, she said with a sigh of relief, "She's ok, just unconscious."

"Keep her safe, we're going in there." Buffy said. Angel and Buffy's attentions returned to the door. Leaving Appel and Faith behind, they walked into the back room, cautiously aware of their surroundings. It was dark, too dark for Buffy to see.

"That's different." Angel breathed. Buffy stood beside him completely blinded to what his vampire eyes could see.

"What is it? Willow?" Buffy whispered. Reaching for the wall beside her, she felt for a light switch. Feeling a sense of relief, she flipped the switch. Light illuminated the room, allowing Buffy's eyes to adjust to the sight of the room – suddenly feeling extremely light-headed.

As Kennedy lie unmoving on the floor, Willow stood as naturally as always beside Xander. A brunette wearing a pink dress stood beside Xander with her hands positioned by his head with a silver glowing force being sucked out of Xander's head and into the woman's arms.

"Well now I'm really confused." Buffy blurted, obviously interrupting their little ritual.

"Buffy!" Willow squealed as innocently as ever. The power sucking stopped; Xander and pink dress lady turned to face them.

"Willow, what the hell is going on?" Buffy shouted. A small murmur of consciousness came from Kennedy.

"She is alive." Willow pointed to Kennedy.

"And Xander what are you doing here? And what's with the eyes?" She began to walk over to him.

Angel held her back. "Don't. That's not Xander anymore." Buffy looked back to Xander who had an amused look on his face. In a second, his eyes flashed with a flame of red.

"I am Laxe." A demonic voice erupted from her friend's throat.

"Laxe? As in Laxe?" Buffy looked to Angel for confirmation and replied with a small nod. "Oh. I thought you'd be taller. Or at least have your own body."

Moving too quickly to realise what was going on, he attacked Angel, throwing him across the room.

"Angel!" Buffy exclaimed, rushing over to him. Buffy stood back up, ready in her fighting stance. "I really don't want to fight Xander." Xander smirked. Buffy hit him square in the jaw. "But since you're Laxe, I have no problem." Going in for another punch, Laxe caught Buffy's arm mid-punch. "Watch it girly, I'm faster and stronger than you."

"Please, you think you scare me? I destroyed your boss." Buffy replied smugly.

"The First cannot be destroyed, it lives on through me, though all demons." Laxe laughed evilly.

Buffy took this opportunity to hit him again. "That was for Angel."

"Hey guys," Willow smiled interrupting their little tête-à-tête. "Buff, we're kinda in the middle of something here."

Buffy looked at her. "He's a demon! He knocked Angel out."

"Meh, he's an old nemesis." Laxe shrugged. "I'll kill him later, I thought he might get in my way."

"Way of what?" Buffy turned to Willow. "What are you doing? My best friends are hanging out with this old lady while one of them is possessed by one of the most powerful demons to date and threatens to kill my boyfriend? Of course." Buffy said sarcastically.

"He's your boyfriend now?" Willow smiled.

"Not now, Will!" Buffy cried, obviously she was completely avoiding the subject.

"Silence!" Laxe roared. "The human female talk too much!" hen turning to the old woman, he commanded, "Continue."

"Over my dead body." Buffy began to step in, but Willow stopped her.

"Buffy, it's alright." Willow said simply.

"Nothing about this is alright." Buffy countered.

"I would never let anything bad happen to Xander." Willow said. Buffy shot her a Xander's-a-demon look. "I didn't do that."

"We need to talk." Buffy said in a no-nonsense tone. "Now." Pulling Willow aside, the old lady resumed her ritual. "Willow, what's going on? Do you still have your powers? Why is Xander possessed and here?"

"Shalark ritual, yes, Laxe jumped him and he's part of the ritual." Willow explained.

"Is he going to be ok?" Buffy asked, glancing back to Xander who was wincing in pain.

"Lizzie knows what she's doing." Willow replied.

"Lizzie Brooks? As in fake coven Lizzie Brooks?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah. It turns out that it is a real coven, but a coven of demons trying to do good. That's why I got confused when I looked into their minds. They're fighting a good/ evil battle inside them everyday. So much psychological activity means that they come off a little robotic physically." Willow explained.

"Appel called them Indones, apparently they're like robot demons." Buffy replied defensively.

"They warned me about that slayer, they said she misunderstands them as I did. When I heard that Xander was in town, but as Laxe, I needed the Indones help to extract Laxe safely from Xander and into a new host. I came here a year ago, and found he was trying to start his own war. He knew I couldn't kill him, but I threatened to kill his business. He survives on this plane through his club. Since then, he inhabited Xander. Now I'm trading him his club back for Xander. Lizzie came to find me cos she knew she could help. Lizzie volunteered to be Laxe's new host. She's half human and thinks that she could control Laxe consciously. He's actually not all that bad."

"He was the First's right hand man, Will. He's dangerous." Buffy objected.

"That's why I'm binding him inside Lizzie, powerless, just as the host." Willow replied.

"If she's powerless, how is she doing that?" Buffy pointed to the shiny substance coming out of Lizzie's hands.

"That's me." Willow smiled.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this? I would have helped. You know that." Buffy said, feeling slightly neglected all of a sudden.

"This wasn't your problem. Besides, Laxe told me not to include any slayers, he doesn't trust them. A pact was made. I had to turn into dark Willow to convince you that I wanted my powers stripped. I'd been planning this for weeks. That's why I began the dreams about Tara. I didn't expect Kennedy to walk out. But I couldn't tell her. In a way I don't blame her for walking out on me. " Willow sighed.

"And why, exactly, is Kennedy unconscious?"

"She didn't see it was Xander, attacked Laxe and he knocked her unconscious. I wanted to leave before she awoke, I thought we'd be done by now." Willow admitted.

"Why are you avoiding her?" Buffy asked.

"Before she was unconscious, a moment before, I heard her think 'Faith, come get me'. I know what Faith like now, and I figured out the rest." Willow said.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. At least Kennedy came to find you. She thought you were in danger." Buffy consoled.

"I don't deserve her anyway. I hate to say it, but I think she'd be happier and safer with Faith." Willow said.

"But I though you just said you were putting on dark Will, you can control it right?" Buffy asked.

"I do, it's just sometimes… it flickers. My emotions are the key." Willow said uncertainly.

"Ahhh!" Laxe cried, collapsing to the floor. Lizzie stood tall, her eyes now glowing hotly.

"It was successful." Laxe boomed from Lizzie's body.

"Xander?" Willow knelt beside him and gently tugged at his arm.

"Yeah, I'm up, what happened?" Xander murmured, half asleep.

"Doesn't matter." Willow said, standing up. She faced Laxe. Closing her eyes, Willow began chanting. A soft breeze blew across the room.

"What are you doing, witch?" Laxe roared.

"Binding you to Lizzie." Buffy answered, knowing Willow couldn't break from her own spell.

"No!" Laxe screamed, throwing himself at Willow unsuccessfully as Buffy intervened with a sidekick, pushing him backwards. Willow's chanting continued; the words could not be made out, yet her spell seemed to be strengthening as the wind picked up and a blue magnetic force surrounded Willow.

"Xander! Get out!" Buffy shouted. Immediately doing what he was told, Xander ran out of the door, having been confused at his position in this situation.

In desperation, Laxe reached for the still unconscious Kennedy, dragging her body along the floor and holding her in a potentially fatal position, were enough pressure given. "Stop or she's dead."

Willow immediately stopped her chanting, with the blue cloud slowly dissipating around her. "No, don't."

Willow worried face softened when Kennedy's eyes fluttered open, unbeknownst to the demon. Inhaling her situation, Kennedy used surprise to her advantage. With one swift movement, Kennedy flipped Laxe over, her leg raised.

"Kennedy, don't!" Buffy shouted, but it was too late. Kennedy's foot sped full force on Lizzie's neck, killing both her and Laxe.

"Oh my god!" Willow exclaimed, rushing over to Lizzie. "She was human!"

"What?" Kennedy breathed. "I just…? I didn't…"

"You didn't know." Buffy said, paused and then turned to Willow, "But, if Laxe can't be killed, then…"

Instantly, Lizzie's body rose, levitating in the air. "You think that will stop me?" Laxe's demonic voice boomed. "Nothing can stop me, not even you, slayer."

"Then I'll take a shot." Willow said. Her eyes blackened as she resumed her chant, picking up where she left off.

Both Kennedy and Buffy kicked him square in the chest, knocking him back and preventing Laxe from stopping Willow's spell.

"With these words, my spell is cast!" Willow raised her voice, hurling the blue energy at Laxe. Laxe shouted, attempting to throw the table at her, but seeming to find it too heavy.

"Well that's a funny sight." Buffy smirked.

Trying again, Laxe found his superhuman powers ineffective. "My powers? Argh!" He screamed.

Suddenly, a moment of silence. Laxe blinked. The eyes returned from a fiery red to a serene green. "I am back. Thank you." Lizzie's feminine voice greeted.

"You can control him that easily?" Willow asked surprised, she was sure it would have taken a little longer to learn how to suppress him.

"Much to his despair, yes." She replied. "I think we'll get along just fine."

"I'm so confused. I have a killer headache." Kennedy looked dazed. "Is this a yay or nay situation?"

"I'm thinking yay." Buffy replied. "Xander's alive and himself, Will still has her powers and one very powerful demon has been neutralised – seems like a win-win situation to me."

Leaving Willow and Kennedy a moment to pass awkward eye-contact, Kennedy was grateful when Appel and Faith rushed into the room. "Kenn! Are you alright?" Faith rushed to Kennedy.

"Kenn?" Willow muttered, rolling her eyes. _What kinda nickname is that? _

"And you?" Faith turned to Willow, catching her slightly off-guard.

"Er, yeah, I'm good." Willow replied.

"Faith, can Willow and I have a moment?" Kennedy gently asked.

"Sure." Leaving her side, uncertainly, Faith rejoined Appel while Buffy informed her of the Indones true purpose.

"I'm so sorry I dragged you into all of this. You weren't supposed to come. I didn't tell you because I wanted to protect you." Willow explained in a rush.

"Let me make two things clear: I _do_ love you and probably always will, but I can't keep doing this. You can't protect me from the real world anymore than I could stop myself from becoming a slayer. I don't need or want protection, I need someone to love and who would always tell me the truth. I'm sorry Willow, but I have to try and make this work with Faith." She whispered toward the end, a tear breaking free.

"I understand." Willow replied, a tear slipping down her cheek as well. "You need someone that makes you happy. I will always love you and I'm sorry I disappointed you."

"You never disappointed me, you just made me cry." Kennedy replied, wiping the tear from her face.


	22. The Beginning of Something New

It had been several hours since the showdown at the club. Willow had told Buffy she was leaving LA and Buffy agreed to go back with her.

"I'm sorry our time got interrupted." Buffy told Angel while she was packing to go home.

"Me too." Angel replied. Not that he was usually chatty, but Buffy felt he was especially quiet tonight.

"Are you alright?" Buffy asked, sitting down beside him on the chair in her guest room. Angel looked up at her for the first time since she announced she was going home.

"Actually I have something to tell you." He replied, sounding deeply serious.

"Ok. What is it? You can tell me anything." Buffy clasped his cold hands.

"Well, I've been researching for some time now and I think I've finally come up with a solution. So that we can be together." Angel said.

"Really? How?" Buffy asked.

"I know how to become permanently human." Angel revealed. "The only catch is, I have to be reborn… through the death caused by my soul mate." He paused. "You."

Buffy sat open-mouthed. "You mean I have to kill you… again?"


End file.
